Is Carmelo Anthony a Hall of Famer?

By Jeff McDaniel | Apr 06, 2021, 3:58pm

As a basketball player, one of the most significant accomplishments one can attain is to earn a place amongst the game’s elite. And that place is the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. When a player makes the Hall, his/her name is cemented beside some of the greatest names ever to be affiliated with the sport. One name that has been circling the Hall of Fame conversation is Carmelo Anthony. Anthony is one of basketball’s most decorated players, and I’m going break down why I believe he is a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Career Statistics

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	TOV	PTS
2003-04	19	DEN	82	82	36.5	0.426	0.322	0.777	6.1	2.8	1.2	3	21
2004-05	20	DEN	75	75	34.8	0.431	0.266	0.796	5.7	2.6	0.9	3	20.8
2005-06 *	21	DEN	80	80	36.8	0.481	0.243	0.808	4.9	2.7	1.1	2.7	26.5
2006-07 *	22	DEN	65	65	38.2	0.476	0.268	0.808	6	3.8	1.2	3.6	28.9
2007-08	23	DEN	77	77	36.4	0.492	0.354	0.786	7.4	3.4	1.3	3.3	25.7
2008-09 *	24	DEN	66	66	34.5	0.443	0.371	0.793	6.8	3.4	1.1	3	22.8
2009-10 *	25	DEN	69	69	38.2	0.458	0.316	0.83	6.6	3.2	1.3	3	28.2
2010-11 *	26	TOT	77	77	35.7	0.455	0.378	0.838	7.3	2.9	0.9	2.7	25.6
2010-11 *	26	DEN	50	50	35.5	0.452	0.333	0.823	7.6	2.8	0.9	2.8	25.2
2010-11 *	26	NYK	27	27	36.2	0.461	0.424	0.872	6.7	3	0.9	2.4	26.3
2011-12 *	27	NYK	55	55	34.1	0.43	0.335	0.804	6.3	3.6	1.1	2.6	22.6
2012-13 *	28	NYK	67	67	37	0.449	0.379	0.83	6.9	2.6	0.8	2.6	28.7
2013-14 *	29	NYK	77	77	38.7	0.452	0.402	0.848	8.1	3.1	1.2	2.6	27.4
2014-15 *	30	NYK	40	40	35.7	0.444	0.341	0.797	6.6	3.1	1	2.2	24.2
2015-16 *	31	NYK	72	72	35.1	0.434	0.339	0.829	7.7	4.2	0.9	2.4	21.8
2016-17 *	32	NYK	74	74	34.3	0.433	0.359	0.833	5.9	2.9	0.8	2.1	22.4
2017-18	33	OKC	78	78	32.1	0.404	0.357	0.767	5.8	1.3	0.6	1.3	16.2
2018-19	34	HOU	10	2	29.4	0.405	0.328	0.682	5.4	0.5	0.4	0.8	13.4
2019-20	35	POR	50	50	32.5	0.426	0.371	0.843	6.3	1.6	0.8	1.7	15.3
Career			1114	1106	35.7	0.448	0.348	0.812	6.5	2.9	1	2.6	23.6

Early Career

Anthony’s playing career began in the Baltimore suburb of Townson, Maryland. He starred at Townson Catholic High School, where he would receive many prestigious honors. At Townson, he received league, county, and All-Metropolitan Player of the Year awards. Before entering his senior year, Anthony accepted a scholarship to attend Syracuse University in upstate New York. At the time of his commitment, Anthony was just a junior and was a year removed from being eligible to enroll at the university.

Carmelo decided to forgo his senior year at Townson Catholic and instead attended Oak Hill Academy. At Oak Hill, he would win MVP honors at one of the top high school basketball tournaments in the country, The Les Schwab Invitational. He went on to win the Nike Academy Invitational and was named to the USA Today All-USA First Team. Additionally, Anthony was named a McDonald’s All-American and was ranked the No. 1 high school prospect in his 2002 class.

Anthony entered the league before the 2003 NBA season, and if not for LeBron James, he may have been the best Rookie in his class. That season, he went on to average 21 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. Carmelo would go on to win every Rookie of the Month Award during the 2003 season, and the fourth player to ever achieve that accomplishment. As one of the top scorers in the league as a rookie, Anthony would go on to score 20-plus points for 14 consecutive seasons. He is one of the most talented scorers of all-time and has had success at every level he’s played at.

Accolades

Anthony is currently 18th on the all-time scoring list and is less than 1,000 points from the cracking top ten. In all like likelihood, Melo has a realistic shot at making the top ten if he averages at least 13 points per game for the next 82 games. Anthony led the league in scoring during the 2012-13 season, and every retired scoring champ dating back to 1960 that has been eligible for the Hall, besides Kobe Bryant, has made the Hall of Fame.

In addition to his scoring accomplishments, Melo is a McDonald’s All-American, an NCAA Champion, a 3x Olympic Gold Medalist (basketball record), and a 10x NBA All-Star. He also has his #15 retired by his alma mater, Syracuse University. Of the 35 players that have made at least 10 All-Star appearances, 32 of them have been elected to the Hall of Fame. That’s assuming Anthony, Paul Pierce, and Kobe Bryant all make the Hall, but I don’t see any reasons why they shouldn’t.

Playoff Statistics

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	TOV	PTS
2003-04	19	DEN	4	4	35.8	0.328	0.182	0.8	8.3	2.8	1.3	4.3	15
2004-05	20	DEN	5	5	36	0.422	0	0.813	5.4	2	0.6	2.6	19.2
2005-06	21	DEN	5	5	38.6	0.333	0	0.75	6.6	2.8	0.8	3	21
2006-07	22	DEN	5	5	42	0.48	0.5	0.795	8.6	1.2	1	3.8	26.8
2007-08	23	DEN	4	4	26.5	0.364	0.25	0.828	9.5	2	0.5	3	22.5
2008-09	24	DEN	16	16	38.3	0.453	0.364	0.826	5.8	4.1	1.8	2.3	27.2
2009-10	25	DEN	6	6	42.3	0.464	0.316	0.877	8.5	3.3	2	3.5	30.7
2010-11	26	NYK	4	4	39	0.375	0.346	0.853	10.3	4.8	1.3	3.3	26
2011-12	27	NYK	5	5	40.8	0.419	0.222	0.765	8.2	2.2	1.2	2.8	27.8
2012-13	28	NYK	12	12	40.1	0.406	0.298	0.885	6.6	1.6	1.1	2.6	28.8
2017-18	33	OKC	6	6	32.3	0.375	0.214	0.733	5.7	0.3	1.7	1	11.8
Career			72	72	38.5	0.415	0.309	0.824	7.1	2.6	1.3	2.8	24.5

Denver Nuggets

Carmelo has made the postseason 11 times in his 18 seasons in the NBA. From 2003-09, Anthony made seven straight playoff appearances with the Denver Nuggets. The only real shot Anthony ever had with the Nuggets came during the 2008-09 season, where Denver made it to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in six games. The Nuggets were an incredibly talented team that season, finishing as the number 2 seed in the West with a 50-32 record.

In addition to Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets also had two other All-Star players in guards Chauncey Billups and Alleb Iverson. Although Iverson was past his prime years in Philadelphia, he still was averaging 17.5 points, 5 assists, and 1.5 steals. Carmelo also had one of the best head coaches in the NBA during that time in George Karl. Although Karl has yet to make the Hall of Fame, he is the 6th winningest head coach in NBA history.

The 2008-09 season provided Carmelo with his best chance at competing for a ring in his career but was cut short by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Despite the amount of talent that Anthony was surrounded by, I’m not going to fault him for losing a six-game series to Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson; both of whom are two of the most exceptional individuals ever to be affiliated with the sport of basketball.

New York Knicks

After Anthony and Billups were shipped to the Knicks during the 2010-11 season, he made the playoffs three times with the franchise. His three playoff appearances with the Knicks came during 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons. As a Knick, Anthony’s best ring opportunity came in 2012, when the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in six games. The 2012 New York Knicks were much less talented than the 2008 Nuggets squad, as Tyson Chandler was the only other All-Star on the team besides Carmelo.

Anthony’s second-best teammate could arguably have been Amar’e Stoudemire, who never matched his stellar play on the Knicks with his prime years on the Phoenix Suns. You could also make an argument that Anthony’s coach, Mike Woodson, was just an average coach in the NBA and not an elite one like many players in the Hall of Fame have had in their careers.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Carmelo Anthony’s last playoff appearance came in 2017 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite playing with two future Hall of Famers Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the team was ousted by the Utah Jazz in six games. Melo’s tenure with the Thunder was rocky from the start, as he refused a bench role and struggled with his shot.

In his defense, Carmelo was thrust into an unfortunate position with the Thunder and had to adjust his playing style to become the third option on a team with two ball-dominant guards. For the first time in his career, and probably his life, Melo was not the first or second option or primary ball-handler.

HOF Comparison

Player	PTS/G	All-Star	All-NBA	Scoring Titles	Career Points
Carmelo Anthony	23.6	10x	6x	1x	26,314
Dominique Wilkins	24.8	9x	7x	1x	26,668
Alex English	21.5	8x	3x	1x	25,613
Reggie Miller	18.2	5x	3x	0	25,279
Adrian Dantley	24.3	6x	2x	2x	23,177

Carmelo has better career statistics than many current Hall of Famers. Some of the players that I am going to compare Melo to are Dominique Wilkens, Alex English, Reggie Miller, and Adrian Dantley. Anthony has more career points, and All-Star appearances than each of the listed players, and also has the third-highest scoring average among the five.

Let’s also mention that none of the four other players, in addition to Carmelo, have ever won an MVP award nor an NBA Championship. When considering a player for the Hall, championships and MVP awards both come to mind. So why should Carmelo be in consideration to no make the Hall?

He still trails Dominique Wilkins in career points, but Carmelo should pass Wilkins by the time his career is over. Excluding Adrian Dantley, all of the players I mentioned are in the Hall of Fame. Anthony has more career points, All-Star appearances, and All-NBA selections than Dantley, Miller, and Alex English.

If we look at their numbers, Melo’s resume is as good, if not better than all of the players I mentioned. Let’s also keep in mind that none of the players, including Carmelo, have a championship ring. Anthony’s scoring ability and sustained longevity should be more than enough to make the Hall.

Competition

Yes, Melo has yet to have had any sort of playoff success and has somewhat of a selfish/outdated style of play. But all things considered, his scoring accolades alone should be more than enough to make the Hall; not to mention his high school, college, and Olympic careers. These days, we like to critique a player’s worth for the Hall by several factors, especially by championships rings.

Even without a ring, it’s hard to ignore the level of competition Carmelo has played against in his career. Many of Melo’s adversaries are already in or are sure-fire Hall of Famers in the future. Keep in mind Carmelo has played against all-time greats like LeBron, Dirk, Steph, Kobe, KD, and Tim Duncan.

Curry, James, Duncan, and Kobe all have the accolades to be considered as the top player at their respective positions of all-time. Many of these players have also had better supporting casts than Carmelo during their careers. I’m also going to point out that Anthony has also never had an all-time great head coach, compared to many players of the that I’ve mentioned.

Carmelo’s best supporting cast and coach may have been Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, and George Karl during his time as a Denver Nugget. The three were all above-average, no doubt, but Iverson was past the prime years that he had in Philadelphia, and George Karl was nearing the end of his coaching career.

You could also argue that Melo was never in a well-run organization like the Lakers, Spurs, and Miami Heat. If anything, it’s eye-opening to see some of the success he had with the New York Knicks, considering the dysfunction that has surrounded the franchise for decades.

Anthony never played with an organization that was willing to bring in a top-tier free agent to play alongside him. His best sidekick never matched that of LeBron, Curry, Kobe, and Tim Duncan. LeBron played with a future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, Curry alongside Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and Kobe had a couple of great seasons with Pau Gasol.

Although he may never have been a top-five player in the league at his prime, Melo was undoubtedly a top 15 talent in his prime. He played against many future Hall of Fame players and coaches without much stability on his own teams. Take into account that he averaged nearly 24 points per game, Melo is, without a doubt, a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Jeff McDaniel

Diehard Laker and Seahawk fan. I unfortunately witnessed the Seattle Seahawks passing the ball on the 1 yard line. I hope that sports can unite people and bring them closer together. Current student at Chapman University.